1-2. How we fit follow the advice for Proverbs 4:25? Talk one example.

THINK about this three examples. One old sister de think about the better-better things wey e don enjoy for e life before. Even though say life de hard-am more-more now, e de continue to do everything wey e fit do for Jehovah. (1 Cor. 15:58) Na everyday e de think about when e go dey together with people wey e love for Paradise. One sister remember say somebody for congregation do wetin really make-am vex, but e decide to forget about wetin happen. (Col. 3:13) One brother remember the mistakes wey e don do before, but e put e mind for the things wey e fit do now to serve Jehovah well.—Ps. 51:10.

² Wetin make this three people example resemble? All of them remember the things wey happen for their life before, but they no de always think about this things. Instead, them “de look straight” for future.—Read Proverbs 4:25.

3. Why we need to always “de look straight” for future?

³ Why e dey important to always “de look straight” for future? Person wey de always waka de look back, no go fit waka straight. Na so e still be with our worship to Jehovah. We no go fit continue to serve Jehovah well if we de always think about the things wey don happen for our life before.—Luke 9:62.

4. Wetin we go talk about for this article?

⁴ For this article, we go talk about three traps wey fit make us de always think about things wey don happen for our life before. They be: (1) when we want make our life be as e be before, (2) when we still de vex for wetin person do us, and (3) when our conscience de over worry us. For this three things wey we go talk about, we go see how Bible fit help us make we no de put our mind for the things wey dey  “back,” but make we de put our mind for the things wey dey “front.”—Phil. 3:13.

5. Which trap Ecclesiastes 7:10 warn us about?

⁵ Read Ecclesiastes 7:10. This verse no talk say na bad thing to ask say: “Why yesterday good?” As person fit think about the good things wey don happen for e life before, this one na gift from Jehovah. But, the verse talk say: “No talk say, ‘Why yesterday better pass today?’” So, we must dey careful make we no de compare how our life be before with how e be now, and de think say everything don worse now. This verse for another Bible translation, talk say: “No ever ask say, ‘Oh, why things before-before really better pass now?’ That kind question no make sense.”

6. Why e no make sense to continue to think say the way our life be before better pass now? Give one example.

⁶ Why e no make sense to continue to think say the way our life be before better pass now? If we de think like that na only the good things wey don happen to us before we go de remember. E fit even make us forget the bad things wey we don suffer before. Make we see the example of the Israelites. After they comot for Egypt, quick-quick they forget how they suffer for there. Na only the good food wey they enjoy they put for their mind. They talk say: “We de always remember the fish wey we de chop for Egypt for free, and even the cucumber, watermelon, leek, onion, and garlic!” (Num. 11:5) But na true say they chop those things “for free”? No. Israel people really suffer to pay o. Egypt people really use them as slave and suffer them for wicked way. (Ex. 1:13, 14; 3:6-9) Still, they forget all the bad things wey they suffer and de think of only the enjoyment. They decide to put mind for only the enjoyment wey they think say they don enjoy for Egypt, and forget the better-better things wey Jehovah don do for them. This one no make Jehovah happy at all.—Num. 11:10.

7. Wetin help one sister make e no put e mind for things wey e don enjoy before?

 ⁷ Wetin we go do so that we no go start to think about how our life be before? Make we see the example of one sister wey start to work for Bethel for the year 1945. After some time, this sister marry one Bethelite, and they serve together for many years. But for 1976, e husband start to sick. The sister say, when e husband see say e go soon die, e give-am one advice wey go help-am to cope after e don die. The husband talk say: “We don really enjoy our marriage. Many people never get that kind experience.” But e still talk say: “No put your mind for the good things wey we don enjoy together. The truth be say, you go remember those times. But as time de go, your pain go de reduce. Make you no dey sad sotey you come de sorry for yourself. Make you de glad say you enjoy that kind better blessing. . . . Na gift from Jehovah say we get the power to remember the things wey we don enjoy before.” Na better advice be that, no be so?

8. How the advice wey the husband of one sister give-am help-am?

⁸ This our dear sister follow the advice wey e husband give-am. E hold Jehovah tight till e die when e dey 92 years. Some years before e die e talk say: “When I look back for the 63 years wey I don serve Jehovah for full-time service, I fit talk say I don really enjoy my life.” Why e talk like that? The sister talk say: “Wetin de make life sweet na say, we and our dear brothers and sisters na one family and we get the hope to live forever for Paradise. That time, we go de serve Jehovah, the Almighty and the only true God, forever.” * This one na really better example wey we fit learn from. The sister make sure say e continue to look straight for future!

9. With wetin dey for Leviticus 19:18, which time e fit really hard pass to forgive?

⁹ Read Leviticus 19:18. E no de easy to forgive person wey do us bad, if the person na Christian brother or sister, close friend, or family member. For example, one sister talk say another sister thief e money, and no be true. After, the sister wey talk-am, go beg the other sister. But the other sister no gree, e continue to vex. This kind thing don happen to you before? Even if you never face this kind thing before, many of us fit don face wetin make us vex sotey we feel say we no fit forgive the person.

10. Wetin fit help us when we still de vex for wetin person do us?

¹⁰ Wetin fit help us when something wey person do us still de vex us? We must remember say, Jehovah de see everything. E know everything wey we de face for life, even when person no treat us well. (Heb. 4:13) E de feel for us when we de suffer. (Isa. 63:9) And e promise say e go comot all the bad things wey we don suffer because of wickedness.—Rev. 21:3, 4.

11. How we de help ourself when we forgive other people?

¹¹ We still want remember say, when we forgive other people, we de help ourself. The sister wey they talk say e thief money, come remember this one. As time de go, e stop to vex and e forgive. The sister know say Jehovah go forgive us when we forgive other people. (Matt. 6:14) The sister know say wetin the other sister do no good, but e choose to forgive-am, and forget wetin happen. So because of this one, our sister dey happy more and e come fit put e mind for e service to Jehovah.

12. Wetin we learn from 1 John 3:19, 20?

¹² Read 1 John 3:19, 20. Our conscience de judge us sometimes. For example, some people conscience de judge them because of things wey they do before they start to serve Jehovah. For other people, their conscience de worry them because of the bad things wey they do after they baptize. Plenty people de feel like that. (Rom. 3:23) The thing be say, we want do the correct thing. But “all of us de make mistake many times.” (Jas. 3:2; Rom. 7:21-23) Na true say we no de like-am when our conscience de worry us for wetin we don do before, but this one fit still help us. Why? Na because when our conscience de worry us, this one fit make us change some things for our life, and make us do our best make we no do the same mistake again.—Heb. 12:12, 13.

13. Why we need to dey careful make our conscience no worry us too much?

¹³ But e dey possible say our conscience fit de over worry us, even after we don repent and Jehovah don show say e don forgive us. The result of this kind thing no good. (Ps. 31:10; 38:3, 4) Why? Make we talk about one sister wey e conscience continue to worry-am because of the bad things wey e don do before. The sister talk say: “I be feel say e dey useless to work hard for Jehovah because e don too late.” Many of us fit understand how this sister de feel. So e good make we dey careful so that we no go enter this trap. Make we no allow our conscience de worry us too much. Why? Na because Satan go over glad if we tire for ourself, when Jehovah never tire for us!—Compare 2 Corinthians 2:5-7, 11.

14. How we fit dey sure say Jehovah never tire for us?

 ¹⁴ Even with that one, we fit still de think say, ‘How I fit really know say Jehovah never tire for me?’ If you ask that question, e show say Jehovah fit forgive you. Many years ago, one Watchtower talk say: “We fit de repeat the same mistake wey we don do before. E fit be say we still de struggle with one problem wey we get before we start to serve God. . . . Make you no tire. No feel say you don commit sin wey Jehovah no fit ever forgive. Na so Satan want make you think. The thing wey you do no make you happy and e de pain you. This one show say you never cross line wey you no fit come back. Dey humble and continue to beg God for prayer make e forgive you, make e help you get clean conscience again, and help you stop to make this mistake. No matter how small pikin de get the same problem everytime, e de always beg e papa to help-am. So no tire to beg Jehovah to help you, and e go help you because of e special favor.” *

15-16. How some people de feel when they know say Jehovah never tire for them?

¹⁵ Plenty servants of Jehovah don see-am say Jehovah never tire for them, and this one don give them comfort. For example, some years ago, one brother read one experience under the topic wey be “Bible De Help People Change Their Life.” The thing wey e read really touch e heart. For the experience, one sister talk say because of the bad things wey e don do before, e hard for-am to believe say Jehovah fit love-am. And even after many years wey the sister don baptize, e still de feel like that. But, when the sister begin think deep about the sacrifice of Jesus, this one help-am to believe say Jehovah love-am. *

¹⁶ How the experience of this sister help the brother? E talk say: “When I dey young, I de always look naked people picture, and e really hard me to stop-am. I stop, but after some time, I do-am again. I don go meet elders make they help me, and I de succeed to stop my problem. The elders don make me dey sure say God love me and e want forgive  me. But sometimes, I still de feel say I dey useless and say Jehovah no fit love me. But the experience of this sister wey I read really help me. Now I don know say when I think say God no go fit forgive me, that one mean say I believe say the sacrifice of e Son no go fit pay for my sins. I don cut this experience and keep-am so that I fit read-am and think about-am anytime wey I de feel say Jehovah no love me.”

17. How apostle Paul no allow e conscience de over worry-am?

¹⁷ This kind experience de make us remember apostle Paul. Before e become Christian, e do some bad things wey serious. Paul remember the bad things wey e do, but e no continue to think about-am. (1 Tim. 1:12-15) E see the sacrifice of Jesus as gift wey Jehovah give-am. (Gal. 2:20) So Paul no allow e conscience de over worry-am, but the thing wey e put e mind na to give Jehovah e best.

18. Wetin we don learn for this article?

¹⁸ Wetin we don learn from the different-different trap wey we talk about for this article? (1) As person fit think about the good things wey don happen for e life before, this one na gift from Jehovah. No matter how sweet our life don be before, our life for Paradise go sweet pass-am. (2) People fit do wetin pain us, but when we choose to forgive them, we go fit put our mind for other things. (3) If we allow our conscience to worry us too much, this one fit make us stop to serve Jehovah with joy. So, like Paul, we need to believe say Jehovah don forgive us.

19. How we manage know say for Paradise, we no go de remember the things wey de make us feel sad?

¹⁹ We get the hope to live forever. And for Paradise, we no go de remember the things wey de make us feel sad. Bible tell us about that time, say: “Wuna no go remember the old things again.” (Isa. 65:17) Just think-am: Some of us don old as we de serve Jehovah now, but for Paradise, we go dey young again. (Job 33:25) So, make we tell ourself say we go stop to always de think about things wey don happen for our life before. Instead, make we de think about Paradise and do everything wey we fit do now to dey there!